Page 16 - Seniors Today - March Issue
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important bell-ringers of those days) and
greeted with much excitement and verve
given that the content (it was always king,
not just today) was an interesting amalgam
of updates, milestones and gossip in the
other side of the family in the other side of
the country. Our school lives were indelible
and exciting parts of our being, given the
deep relationships and friendships forged
If learning from home is prolonged much further, children with the classmates, notwithstanding all the
may lose more than they gain
homework, scolds and slaps of the teacher,
I had impromptu bought a few books for tantrums, fights, punishments, compositions
my two young students mentioned above, and everything else. This kept us all going
which they are discovering and learning through the year. But deep down, we all
to use slowly. They are super excited at the deeply missed seeing and talking and
discovery journey and are very happy with hugging our grandparents, our uncles and
the books. But, if I don’t call them at the aunts and out cousins, being treated as VIPs
appointed time every week (for whatever from Bombay (as the maximum city was
reason), they are super disappointed and in then known), served special food, outings,
fact message me. It is nothing but hankering daily storytelling and so many other fun
for that human interaction, the most primal things. The irresistible small-town life, the
need of humans. Unsaid therein is they are tongas, the wayside sweetmeat shops, the
missing their school times. charming individual houses, theatres with
benches in the front, ‘goli-sodas’ were all
The charm of small-town life firmly etched experiences to die for. And
At this stage, I can’t help but recall quite not to mention the indescribable happiness
vividly and fondly my childhood annual of lying down for a nap with your head on
sojourns by train (you had to book months the lap of your grandfather or grandmother
in advance, get the benefit of school or aunt as they tousle our hairs gently and
student concession and a whole lot of other caress us to sleep.
rigmaroles) to our ‘native’ place down south Let us get back that touch and feel back into
during the summer school vacations in the our lives. Children will lose much more if the
1960s and 1970s. Through the year, the only LFH (learn from home) is prolonged. My fear
medium of exchange with relatives was is that learning itself may become obsolete
post cards and letters (and the occasional and that indeed is terrifying. Technology can
trunk call, given that it used to cost an only do so much. E learning can only do so
arm and leg to make one and that too after much. Let us not make our future generation
prior booking) which were eagerly awaited mere mean machines, but warm social
from the grandfather, grandmother, uncle, creatures. Get back our schools, get back our
aunt, cousins and all and sundry, given the teachers, get back our children. Get back to
distance induced separations from daily LAS (learn at school). For brick and mortar
interactions. Receiving letters was an event lay the real foundation to make the tiny feet
in itself (the postman was one of the most take that giant leap.
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